Has anyone on HRT for a long period of time (1-2+ years) experienced a noticeable loss of muscle mass?  If so, does this help give the appearance of a smaller torso and neck?

Weight lifting through HS and early college left me with a body relatively thick with muscle.  I really want to feel like there is some hope of eventually (even if it takes 5+ years) reaching a more feminine level of muscle mass, but from what I've seen and read I'm not sure it is a reasonable result to expect.

Quote from: Kori on May 22, 2011, 06:48:39 PM
Has anyone on HRT for a long period of time (1-2+ years) experienced a noticeable loss of muscle mass?  If so, does this help give the appearance of a smaller torso and neck?

Weight lifting through HS and early college left me with a body relatively thick with muscle.  I really want to feel like there is some hope of eventually (even if it takes 5+ years) reaching a more feminine level of muscle mass, but from what I've seen and read I'm not sure it is a reasonable result to expect.

Generally, your body will realign your body to be more feminine while you are on a full HRT regimen.  How far and to what degree of changes you see as a result will only be up to your own body.  But I wouldn't do any more weight lifting if you still are.

Muscle loss can be a reasonable expectation, you just can't expect changes to your bone structure.Those will remain the same.

Yeah, I cut that out for the most part about 5 years ago because I didn't have easy access to equipment.  Now I just run 3-5 miles 5-7 days a week, but my muscle mass hasn't really diminished much.

Are you on HRTKori?

With male hormones, your muscles won't completely diminish. Things will change a lot though once you manage to begin with hormone therapy.

Actually...all of this can be done! Theres a lady on youtube who was actually a body builder. She was very bulky and all muscle. After months of hrt...her body was a stick. Theres hope.  I wish i had a computer i would post the link.

I'm not yet, but I think they will help me and plan to obtain them after a few more months of therapy.

When I started hormones about two years ago, I was around 230 lb and a 40 chest (below the boobs). Now I am 160 ish and a 37 chest measurement. Still working on loosing more muscle mass, it's really hard to loose muscle though.
 
    So ya just have to give it a little time and allot of dieting.

   Hugs, Roxy Rose

Yea, I've been following Jesslyn and a few other girls on youtube for a while now.  HRT and dieting have definitely helped her upper body.

I don't mean to be a monkey wrench in the gears, but I think the weight loss demonstrated by Jesslyn is mostly due to the type of mass she had. Most of us have a significant amount of this hard to shed male muscle, but in order to get to that original size, it generally takes protein binges and/or chemicals like creatine (which gives you a sort of "water weight"). I had also massed up quite a bit from following those diet routines and heavy weights, but every bit of it melted right off when I stopped taking supplements, and only work out as maintenance. Now I look like I have for years prior to lifting, but I'm not on HRT yet so I can't say that it won't disappear, here's to hoping.

EDIT: I was watching some of her videos and I see steroids were also involved, so that was definitely not natural bulk (not to diminish how hard it has to be on her), if you got that big naturally, it may require much more effort on your part to limit protein intake and find some method of "melting" the muscle off.

It is ALWAYS going to be a YMMV situation.  I was NOT bulky by any stretch of the imagination (and even with my current body image issues, I am still not 'bulky').  I had all of the physique of a stick (literally, I could wrap my thumb and index finger around my wrist as an example).  I know a number of D-1 softball players who have bigger legs now than I have now or ever had.  At the time I went through everything, a heavy day was if I was at 125lbs. 

It is disingenuous to believe that muscle mass is going to just absolutely disappear.  And to get it to disappear would necessitate being quite unhealthy and almost going into a wasting mode.  That being said, there are certainly toning exercises and routines that can be of assistance in some shaping.  But HRT alone is not apt to get a significant reduction in chest width...and I say that now 20 years or so in on the process.   

And here I am at 74, pumping iron to tone, strengthen, and bulk up a bit.

Robyn

My chest went from around 32" down to 28" over 9 months with HRT (this isn't counting boobs, just ribcage), and it definitely looks way better/tiny, I used to find it rather large but it seems I had a really small frame under those muscles.

As said above, losing muscles is a real pain, but I'd recommend doing lots of cardio exercise, it eats through them.

Ah thats not what I wanted to hear, Morrigan. I used to be a endurance cyclist so I've got big legs for my size (5'4"), my thigh is 22 inches around. I can't even cross my legs properly. I also love meat, I eat a lot of chicken. A lot of me has changed with HRT but I still have male taste buds that hate green stuff. I've sold my bike and just walk occasionally now, hopefully just taking it easy will be enough.

I've also developed some large thighs from years of cycling, they're by far my most muscular feature, but I think with some hormonal help and a more feminine oriented toning routine, they'll smooth out a bit. Being 6'1" I think larger legs compliment me very well. I don't see a need to thin the lower body muscles, as men are the ones who have the skinny chicken legs.

I've lost about 8 inches from around my torso after almost 1 year on HRT. Most of it was muscle. So in answer to the question, at least in my case, it will decrease your chest/upper torso size... until the boobs start growing.

Yea, I'm about 165 lbs at 5'9" with a 39" chest and a 31" waist.  Most of my concern is for my neck, lats, and triceps.  Nothing has really diminished much over the past 5 years doing only cardio.

I can probably bump the cardio up to 25 miles a week and reduce protein (and calories in general) to have a bigger impact, but I'm hoping it'll be a bit more effective on HRT.

I actually like the muscle on my lower body.  It already lends itself to a more feminine shape, IMO.

A few years ago I was talking with my doctor about how I was losing upper body strength, and she said I should start lifting weights. I have seen changes in my neck and arms. Not really any differences in my chest.